JP2022545882A - Sorting system, sorting method, computer program and computer readable medium - Google Patents

Abstract

A sorting system and method comprising an RF tag (110), a first RF tag reader (120), a control server (130), a sorting robot (140), a supply table (160), and an article storage container ( 170), an article to be sorted (150) is placed on the supply table, an RF tag is placed on the article to be sorted, tag information of the RF tag includes sorting route information, and a first RF tag reader is arranged to read the tag information in the RF tag and transmit the tag information to the control server, and the control server determines the sorting route of the articles to be sorted based on the tag information read by the first RF tag reader. and is arranged to determine a target article container from the article containers based on the sorting route and send a delivery command to the sorting robot, the sorting robot responding to the delivery command to obtain from the supply table arranged to deliver the sorted items to the target item bin.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments of the present application relate to the technical field of distribution warehousing, eg, sorting systems and methods.

In the industry of warehousing logistics, the sorting of goods and parcels is a very important part of the warehousing logistics industry. The sorting phase allows different destinations of goods and parcels to be assembled and delivered separately, It seeks to collect, store and transport goods and parcels to the same destination together.

At present, in the sorting phase, people generally hold the barcode recognition device in their hand and align it with the barcode of the product or package to recognize the barcode of the product or package. With the rapid increase in the number and types of parcels, the task of sorting work becomes more and more heavy, and the proportion of sorting work occupies more and more. Misrecognition problems are likely to occur due to wrinkled barcodes, etc., which greatly affects the efficiency of sorting.

Embodiments of the present application provide a sorting system and method for improving the sorting efficiency of goods and parcels and reducing labor costs.

Embodiments of the present application are in a sorting system including at least one RF tag, a first RF tag reader, a control server, at least one sorting robot, at least one supply table, and at least one article container. ,
At least one sorting target article is placed on each supply table, the at least one RF tag is placed on each at least one sorting target article, and the tag information of each RF tag includes including sorting route information of the items to be sorted where each of the RF tags is located;
The first RF tag reader is arranged to read tag information in each RF tag and transmit the read tag information to the control server;
The control server determines, based on the tag information read by the first RF tag reader, a sorting route for the sorting target articles on which the RF tags are located, and based on the sorting route, the at least one arranged to determine a target item bin from the item bins and to send delivery instructions to the at least one sorting robot;
The at least one sorting robot, in response to the delivery command, acquires the sorting target items on which the respective RF tags are located from the at least one supply platform, and delivers the sorting target items to the target item storage container. to provide a sorting system located in a

The embodiment of the present application is a sorting method,
A first RF tag reader reads tag information of each RF tag in at least one RF tag and transmits the read tag information to a control server, wherein the at least one RF tag is connected to at least one supply The tag information of each RF tag is placed on each of at least one sorting target article placed on the table, and the tag information of each RF tag includes sorting route information of the sorting target article on which each of the RF tags is located;
The control server determines, based on the tag information read by the first RF tag reader, a sorting route for the sorting target articles on which each of the RF tags is located, and based on the sorting route, determines at least one determining a target item bin from the item bins and sending a delivery command to at least one sorting robot;
The at least one sorting robot responds to the delivery command, acquires the sorting target articles on which the respective RF tags are located from the at least one supply stand, and delivers the sorting target articles to the target article storage container. and a method of sorting.

1 is a structural schematic diagram of a sorting system provided by an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a floor-standing sorting scene of a sorting system provided by an embodiment of the present application; FIG. FIG. 4 is a structural schematic diagram of another sorting system provided by an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 4 is a structural schematic diagram of another sorting system provided by an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 4 is a partial structural schematic diagram of an article transfer facility in the sorting system provided by an embodiment of the present application; 1 is a partial schematic diagram of a floor-standing sorting scene including an article collection station provided by embodiments of the present application; FIG. FIG. 4 is a structural schematic diagram of yet another sorting system provided by an embodiment of the present application; 1 is a flowchart of a sorting method provided by embodiments of the present application;

The drawings are for the purpose of illustrating alternative embodiments only and should not be considered limiting of the present application. Further, the same reference numerals denote the same members throughout the drawings.

The present application will now be described with reference to the drawings and examples. It should be understood that the specific examples described herein are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to limit the present application. It should also be further explained that for ease of explanation, the drawings show only some structures relevant to the present application, rather than all structures.

In the following, first, the overall sorting flow of sorting target articles (for example, sorting target products and parcels) in this embodiment will be briefly described. phase and three phases. In this embodiment, the supply phase realizes the distribution of the articles to be sorted from the transportation equipment to the supply table, and the delivery phase realizes the delivery of the articles to be sorted on the supply table to the article storage containers arranged in the delivery area. By the package collection phase, the article storage container containing the articles to be sorted is moved to the article collection table, and the flow of sorting the articles to be sorted can be completed through the above three phases.

Hereinafter, the sorting system and method provided by the embodiments of the present application will be described by the following embodiments and their alternative solutions.

FIG. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a sorting system provided by an embodiment of the present application. It can be applied to the situation of realizing the sorting of goods, such as goods and parcels, in a box. The sorting system can implement the sorting method provided by any embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 1, a sorting system 100 provided by embodiments of the present application includes at least one RF tag 110, at least one first RF tag reader 120, at least one control server 130, and at least one A sorting system 100 including a sorting robot 140, at least one supply table 160, and at least one article storage container 170,
At least one sorting target article 150 is provided to be placed on at least one supply table 160, at least one RF tag 110 is provided to be placed on the at least one sorting target article 150, each RF tag 110 contains the sorting route information of the sorting target articles 150 on which the RF tags are located,
The first RF tag reader 120 is arranged to read the tag information in the RF tag 110 and transmit the read tag information to the control server 130,
Based on the tag information read by the first RF tag reader 120, the control server 130 determines the sorting route of the sorting target articles 150 on which the respective RF tags are located, and sorts at least one article based on the sorting route. arranged to determine target article bins from bins 170 and to send delivery instructions to at least one sorting robot 140;
At least one sorting robot 140 is arranged to respond to delivery commands and deliver at least one sorted item 150 obtained from at least one supply table 160 to a target item bin.

Hereinafter, the operation process of the sorting system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the structural schematic diagram of the sorting system shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, the sorting system and method according to the present application can be applied to a floor-standing sorting scene or a steel platform sorting scene, and the delivery of sorted items can be performed in either sorting scene. . Here, in the floor-standing sorting scene, the sorting robot operates on the ground, while in the steel platform sorting scene, the sorting robot operates on the steel platform structure.

In this embodiment, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a floor-standing sorting scene of a sorting system provided by an embodiment of the present application. 1 and 2, a plurality of article storage containers 170 are arranged in the middle of the sorting area, and the plurality of article storage containers 170 are arranged in a matrix in the sorting area to form the article storage container area. For a floor-mounted sorting scene, the horizontal and vertical gaps between adjacent article containers 170 constitute the travel path of the sorting robot on the ground. Also, for the steel platform sorting scene, one item storage container corresponds to each grid port of the steel platform structure, and the lateral and vertical gaps between adjacent item storage containers provide space between adjacent grid ports on the steel platform. A certain lateral gap and longitudinal gap can be ensured, so that the lateral gap and longitudinal gap between the grate openings on the steel platform can be used to guide the sorting robot's running path on the steel platform. Configure. In the steel platform sorting scene, the sorting robot needs to work on the steel platform, the steel platform has a certain height, and the sorting robot generally cannot leave the steel platform, so the supply table adjacent to one side of the steel platform can facilitate the sorting robot to pick up the items to be sorted from the supply table, while in the floor-standing sorting scene, the sorting robot runs on the ground. Therefore, it can be understood that there is no need to consider the above problem.

In this embodiment, referring to FIG. 1, the control server 120 is a software and/or hardware system capable of storing data information and processing data information. Alternatively, wireless communication connection is possible. A control server 120 can be used to provide control and scheduling for the entire sorting system. Optionally, the control server 120 can receive information transmitted from multiple hardware facilities or software systems in the sortation system while simultaneously transmitting tasks to multiple hardware facilities or software systems in the sortation system. It can also collect sorting status statistics, detect the operating status of the sorting system, communicate information to workers, and issue control commands to multiple types of robots in the sorting system.

In this embodiment, for each feed table 160, one or more sortable items can be placed on each feed table 160, and for each sortable item 150 placed on the feed table 160, each sortable item Each item 150 carries a uniquely identified RF tag. In one embodiment, the RF tags carried by the items to be sorted 150 use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. Each RF tag 110 includes preset tag information, and the tag information includes sorting route information of sorting target articles. In one embodiment, the sorting route includes information about the city where the item to be sorted is located, ie, the city to be delivered. For example, sorting route information may include indicator data to indicate physical locations such as "Tianjin", "Beijing", and the like.

In this example, different items to be sorted may need to be sent to different destinations, and there are different sorting routes between the multiple items to be sorted. As described above, the sorting route information of the articles to be sorted is carried in the tag information of the RF tags of the articles to be sorted. Referring to FIG. 1 , the sorting system is equipped with one or more first RF tag readers 120 , and when an article to be sorted 150 placed on a supply table 160 approaches the first RF tag reader 120 , the first The RF tag reader 120 can scan the RF tag 110 carried by the article 150 to be sorted and read the tag information in the RF tag 110 . At the same time, the first RF tag reader 120 can establish a communication connection with the control server 130 and transmit the tag information in the read RF tag 110 to the control server 130 .

In this embodiment, referring to FIG. 1, the control server 130 can receive tag information of the RF tag 110 transmitted from the first RF tag reader 120 . Furthermore, the control server 130 can determine the sorting route of the sorting target articles 150 based on the tag information read by the first RF tag reader 120 . For at least one item storage container 170 deployed in the sorting area, each item storage container 170 corresponds to at least one sorting path. In other words, each item container 170 can have a corresponding relationship with one or more sortation paths. At this time, the control server 130 can determine the article storage container corresponding to the sorting route based on the correspondence described above, that is, the target article storage container from at least one article storage container 170 based on the sorting route. can be determined, that is, the item bins in the sorting area to which the items to be sorted located on the feed table 160 need to be delivered.

In this embodiment, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, for a plurality of article storage containers 170 arranged in the sorting area, article storage containers corresponding to the same sorting route are provided adjacently, that is, two article storage containers are provided. If the sorting paths of the containers 170 are the same, these two article storage containers 170 are provided adjacently. Selectably, for a plurality of article storage containers 170 arranged in the sorting area, the plurality of article storage containers 170 are divided into at least two article storage container groups, and the article storage containers 170 corresponding to close sorting routes are grouped into the same article storage container. They may be arranged in groups, ie, if two item containers 170 have corresponding sorting paths close to each other, these two item containers 170 may be arranged in the same group of item containers. In this embodiment, the same sorting route means that the sorting route is the same in physical location, for example, both are "Tianjin", while the closer sorting route means that there are two sorting routes. Routes are close in physical location, that is, the distance between two sorting routes is less than a preset threshold, for example, one is "Tianjin" and the other is "Beijing". is.

In this embodiment, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the same feed table 160 can optionally be associated with only one group of item storage containers, at which time multiple items corresponding to the same feed table 160 are associated. The sorting route is the same as the sorting route corresponding to each of the plurality of article storage containers 170 in the article storage container group. can ensure that Optionally, one or more feed stations 160 can be associated simultaneously with the same group of item bins to ensure simultaneous delivery from multiple feed stations 160 to item bins 170 in the same group of item bins. In this way, delivery efficiency in a group of goods bins can be improved, and overall delivery efficiency can be improved.

In this embodiment, referring to FIG. 1, the control server 130 generates delivery orders for sorting target articles based on the determined target article storage containers, and sends the generated delivery orders to at least one delivery order located in the sorting area. It can be sent to the sorting robot 140 . Further, the sorting robot 140 can deliver at least one sortable item 150 obtained from the supply table 160 to a target item bin in response to a delivery command. In this way, the article storage container 170 can temporarily store one or more items to be sorted for which the sorting route is preset, and one or more items having the sorting route corresponding to the article storage container 170 can be stored. items to be sorted are delivered to and stored in the item storage container 170 .

Optionally, referring to FIG. 1, the sorting area includes a plurality of sorting robots 140 in a standby or active state, and the control server 130 controls one of the plurality of sorting robots 140 located within the sorting area. It is possible to send a delivery command for items to be sorted to one target sorting robot. Optionally, the target sorting robot, when receiving a delivery command sent from the control server 130, further schedules sorted item deliveries based on the location of the target item bins sent from the control server 130. A route may be received and at least one item to be sorted 150 obtained from a supply table 160 may be delivered based on the delivery route.

Based on the above-described embodiments, optionally referring to FIG. 1, the first RF tag reader 120 is provided at a preset position of the feed table 160, or the first RF tag reader 120 is provided at the sorting provided at a preset position on the robot 140, or the first RF tag reader 120 is provided between the supply platform 160 and at least one article storage container 170, and the first RF tag reader 120 and the supply A preset position with the platform 160 is smaller than a preset value. When assigning at least one sorting target article 150 obtained from at least one supply platform 160 to at least one sorting robot 140 in the sorting area, any sorting target article 150 passes through or passes through the set position of the first RF tag reader 120. The proximity causes the first RF tag reader 120 to read the tag information of the RF tag.

The sorting system 100 according to this embodiment further includes a first gripping member 180, and the installation situation of the first RF tag reader 120 and the first gripping member 180 will be described below with some alternative examples.

In one alternative example, the first gripping member 180 is provided on the feed table 160 when the first RF tag reader 120 is provided at a preset position on the feed table 160 . The first gripping member 180 can grab an item 150 to be sorted from the supply table 160 and place the gripped item 150 to be sorted on at least one sorting robot 140 in the sorting area. Optionally, the first RF tag reader 120 is provided on the first gripping member 180 such that when the first gripping member 180 grips the items to be sorted 150 on the supply table 160, the RF tags 110 on the items to be sorted 150 Read tag information.

In another alternative example, if the first RF tag reader 120 is provided at a preset position on the sorting robot 140, the first gripping member 180 is provided on the body of the sorting robot 140, 140, and in this way, the sorting robot 140 can autonomously pick up the items 150 to be sorted on the supply table 160 and place them in preset temporary storage locations on its own body, The grabbed articles 150 to be sorted are temporarily stored. Selectively, when at least one sorting robot 140 grabs an item to be sorted on the supply table 160, the first RF tag reader 120 provided on the first gripping member 180 reads the RF tag 110 of the item to be sorted 150. Read tag information.

In yet another alternative example, a first RF tag reader 120 is provided between the feed table 160 and the at least one item container 170, and a preset number of the first RF tag reader 120 and the feed table 160. is smaller than the preset value, after at least one sorting robot 140 in the sorting area acquires the sorted object 150 gripped from the supply table 160 via the first gripping member 180, the sorting robot 140 passes close to the first RF tag reader 120 which is provided between the supply table 160 and at least one article storage container 170 with the articles 150 to be sorted thereon. At this time, the first RF tag reader 120 reads the tag information in the RF tag 110 of the sorting target article 150 placed on the sorting robot 140 .

Optionally, the first gripping member 180 comprises one robotic arm provided with a mechanical gripper or suction disc, by means of which the articles to be sorted 150 located on the feed table 160 can be gripped. can contain. It can be understood that the installation positions of the first RF tag reader 120 and the first gripping member 180 shown in FIG. can do.

Based on the embodiments described above, and optionally with reference to FIG. 1, the sorting robot 140 includes a plurality of delivery mechanisms, each delivering one or more items 150 to be sorted on the same sort path. can do. Optionally, when delivering items 150 to be sorted, the sorting robot 140 may carry the items 150 to be sorted for one or more sorting paths by multiple delivery mechanisms provided therein. In one possible example, a plurality of items 150 to be sorted carried by the sorting robot 140 may have the same sorting route, in which case the sorting robot 140 carries a plurality of items 150 according to the same sorting route. Items to be sorted can be delivered to the same item bin 170 at the same time. In another selectable example, the plurality of items 150 to be sorted carried by the sorting robot 140 may have different sorting routes, at which time the sorting robot 140 carries a plurality of items 150 according to the different sorting routes. Items 150 to be sorted having different sorting routes can be sequentially delivered and stored in different item storage containers 170 .

For the above two selectable examples, when the first RF tag reader 120 is provided in the sorting robot 140, before the sorting robot 140 delivers each sorting target article 150 placed thereon, the sorting robot 140 The first RF tag reader 120 reads the tag information on the RF tag 110 of each sorting target article 150 and transmits the read tag information to the control server 130 . Furthermore, the control server 130 determines the sorting route of the sorting target articles 150 based on the tag information read by the first RF tag reader 120 for the tag information in the RF tag of each sorting target article 150 that has been read. and, based on the sorting route, determine a target article container for the articles to be sorted from at least one article container 170, and transmit a delivery command for the articles to be sorted 150 to at least one sorting robot 140. The sorting robot 140 then responds to a delivery command for the sorted items, and delivers the at least one sorted item obtained from the at least one supply table to each corresponding target item storage container, thereby yielding a plurality of sorted items. Implement 150 automatic deliveries.

In an embodiment of the present application, the proximity of one object to another object indicates that the distance between the one object and the other object is less than a preset value.

According to the sorting scheme provided by the embodiment of the present application, the first RF tag reader does not require the reading direction. 1 RF tag reader can read the tag information in the RF tag of the sorting object, ensuring that the tag information can be automatically identified and transmitted when the sorting object is grabbed from the supply table. In this manner, the control server automatically determines the sorting route of the grabbed articles to be sorted based on the tag information, automatically assigns the article storage containers to the articles to be sorted, and issues delivery commands to the articles to be sorted. to the sorting robot to instruct the sorting robot to deliver the item to be sorted to the corresponding item bin. Furthermore, the sorting robot can automatically deliver the sorted items to the item storage container based on the delivery command. It realizes the unmanned operation of the delivery phase, saves the time wasted in manually aligning the barcodes of goods and parcels in the delivery phase for identification and delivery, improves the delivery efficiency, Reduce labor costs in the delivery phase.

FIG. 3 is a structural schematic diagram of another sorting system provided by an embodiment of the present application, which is described on the basis of the above embodiments. This embodiment can be combined with the optional schemes in one or more of the embodiments described above. Referring to FIG. 3 and based on the above-described embodiment, the sorting system further includes a second RF tag reader 190, which identifies the location of the items to be sorted to be moved to the supply table 160. , each feed table 160 corresponds to at least one sort channel, and each feed table 160 can allow items to be sorted 150 of at least one sort channel to be placed.
The second RF tag reader 190 is arranged to read the tag information in the RF tags of the articles to be sorted to be moved to the supply table 160 and transmit the read tag information to the control server 130,
Based on the tag information read by the second RF tag reader 190, the control server 130 further determines a sorting route for the sorting target articles to be moved to the supply table 160, and based on the sorting route, at least By determining the feed table 160 corresponding to the sortable articles to be moved from one feed table 160 to the feed table, the sortable articles to be moved to the feed table are arranged to be moved to the corresponding feed table 160. be done.

Hereinafter, the specific operation process of the sorting system according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the structural schematic diagram of the sorting system shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, referring to FIG. 3, an unloading area is set in advance within the sorting area corresponding to the sorting system 100, and a plurality of items to be sorted are transported to the unloading area using transportation equipment. The unloading areas can be unloaded, the items to be sorted located in these unloading areas may be the items to be sorted to be moved to the supply table, and the items to be sorted in the unloading area are placed on the corresponding supply table. I need to move it to 160. Items to be sorted unloaded from the transportation facility carry a uniquely identified RF tag, the RF tag includes corresponding tag information, and the tag information includes sorting route information for the items to be sorted. A second RF tag reader 190 may be provided between the items to be sorted to be moved to the feed table in the unloading area and the position of the feed table 160 . A wired or wireless communication connection can be established between the second RF tag reader 190 and the control server 130, and the second RF tag reader 190 reads the tags in the RF tags of the items to be sorted that have been unloaded from the transportation facility. The information can be read and the read tag information can be sent to the control server 130 .

In one embodiment, items to be sorted to be moved to these supply platforms are also not freely placed, and one or more item deposit facilities 1100 may be pre-populated in the unloading area. The article depository facility 1100 can receive and deposit the articles to be sorted that have been transported from the transportation equipment and are to be moved to the supply table. may be provided at a preset position. In one embodiment, item storage facility 1100 may be a building facility or large storage container, or may be a large container for storing sorted items that have been unloaded from a transportation facility.

In this embodiment, referring to FIG. 3, the control server 130 can receive the tag information transmitted from the second RF tag reader 190, and further based on the tag information transmitted from the second RF tag reader 190, determines the sorting route of the sorting target articles to be moved to the supply table, initially sorts the sorting target articles to be moved to the supply table based on the sorting route, and moves the sorting target articles to the sorted supply table. One corresponding supply table is determined for one or more items to be sorted, that is, the items to be sorted to be moved to the supply table are selected from the plurality of supply tables 160 correspondingly. Move to the supply table 160 . Optionally, the same feed table 160 can be matched in relation to sortable items of at least one sort path, in other words, a feed table 160 can match sort items of one or more sort paths. can be temporarily stored, and in this way it can be ensured that the articles to be sorted with preset destinations are initially supplied to the same supply table 160 and temporarily stored centrally, which This facilitates subsequent batch delivery from the feed table.

In one embodiment, the tag information in the RF tag read by the first RF tag reader 120 and the tag information in the RF tag read by the second RF tag reader 190 match in content, and both are sorted. Contains the destination of the subject item. The difference between the two is that the tag information in the read RF tag works differently, and the tag information read by the first RF tag reader 120 is used for delivery, i.e. delivery of the articles to be sorted. The tag information read by the second RF tag reader 190 is used to supply, i.e., to be moved to the supply table, while determining the item storage containers that need to be sorted to store the items to be sorted. A supply table to which the articles to be sorted need to be moved is determined, and the articles to be sorted are sorted and stored.

In alternative forms of this embodiment, this embodiment can be combined with the alternative schemes in one or more of the embodiments described above. FIG. 4 is a structural schematic diagram of another sorting system provided by an embodiment of the present application. Referring to FIG. 4, sorting system 100 further includes at least one transport robot 1110 or item transfer facility 1120,
The control server 130 sends a supply command to at least one transport robot 1110 or item transfer facility 1120 based on the supply table 160 corresponding to the sorting target item to be moved to the supply table,
The transport robot 1110 receives the supply command, responds to the supply command, and moves the sorting target articles to be moved to the supply table to the corresponding supply table 160, or
The item transfer facility 1120 receives and responds to supply commands and moves items to be sorted to a supply table to corresponding supply tables 160 .

In this embodiment, a plurality of transport robots 1110 are deployed between the unloading area (for example, the location of the item deposit facility 1100) where the items to be sorted are deposited and the supply table 160, or one or more An item transfer facility 1120 is deployed, or a combination of a transport robot 1110 and an item transfer facility 1120 is deployed. After the control server 130 generates the supply order, it sends the supply order to at least one of the transport robot 1110 and the item transfer facility 1120 .

In this embodiment, as an example that can be selected, referring to FIG. 4, the transport robot 1110 moves the supply table 160 corresponding to the items to be sorted kept at the item keeping facility 1100 based on the supply command. can be transported to and temporarily stored. In another alternative example, referring to FIG. 4, for item transfer facility 1120, item transfer facility 1120 receives supply instructions sent from control server 130 and based on the supply instructions, item storage facility 1120 The articles to be sorted that have been kept in the storage can be transferred to the corresponding supply table 1120 for temporary storage. FIG. 5 is a partial structural schematic diagram of an article transfer facility in the sorting system provided by an embodiment of the present application. Referring to FIG. 5, the item transfer facility 1120 includes an inlet, a plurality of outlets, and a transfer member connecting the inlet and the plurality of outlets, wherein articles to be sorted are transferred through the inlets to the article transfer facility. 1120, can be transferred by the transfer member, and exit the article transfer facility 1120 through one of a plurality of exits, wherein the plurality of exits and the plurality of feed tables 160 have a preset correspondence relationship. , and the article transfer facility 1120 transfers the articles to be sorted to the corresponding supply table 160 by guiding the article to be sorted to the target exit corresponding to the corresponding supply table 160 based on the supply command.

In alternative forms of this embodiment, this embodiment can be combined with the alternative schemes in one or more of the embodiments described above. Referring to FIG. 4, the sorting system further includes a second gripping member 1130 that grips and grips the sorted items to be moved to the feed table located in the unloading area. The transport robot 1110 or the article transfer facility 1120 supplies the sorted articles to the corresponding supply table 160 by placing the sorted articles on the transfer robot 1110 or the article transfer facility 1120 . In one embodiment, the second gripping member 1130 can include a robotic arm provided with a mechanical gripper or suction disc and capable of gripping the items to be sorted by the mechanical gripper or suction disc.

In this embodiment, in an alternative example, see FIG. 4, a second RF tag reader 190 is provided on a second gripping member 1130 . When the second gripping member 1130 grips an item to be sorted that is to be moved from the item storage facility 1100 to the supply table, the second RF tag reader 190 directly reads the tag information in the RF tag of the gripped item to be sorted. , the tag information in the read RF tag of the article to be sorted is transmitted to the control server 130 . In another alternative example, referring to FIG. 4, a second RF tag reader 190 is provided at the transport robot 1110 or the item transfer facility 1120 . When the second gripping member 1130 grips an article to be sorted to be moved from the article keeping facility 1100 to the supply table and places the grabbed article to be sorted on the transport robot 1110 or the article transfer facility 1120, the transport robot 1110 or the article A second RF tag reader 190 located in the transfer facility 1120 directly reads the tag information in the RF tag of the grabbed article to be sorted, and transmits the read tag information in the RF tag of the article to be sorted to the control server 130 .

In this embodiment, the installation position of the second RF tag reader shown in FIG. 3 may be shifted, and the installation positions of the second RF tag reader and the second gripping member shown in FIG. For the specific installation situation, please refer to the text descriptions of FIGS. 3 and 4 .

According to the sorting scheme provided by the embodiment of the present application, the second RF tag reader automatically reads the tag information in the RF tag of the sorted article to be moved to the supply table, and the control server sends the second RF tag reader Based on the read tag information, it automatically instructs that the articles to be sorted should be supplied to a matching supply table and kept. Adopting the method according to the present embodiment, the RF reader does not require the reading direction. To ensure that tag information in an RF tag of an article to be sorted can be read and that the tag information can be automatically identified and transmitted when the article to be sorted is grasped. In this way, the control server can early determine the sorting route of the grabbed items to be sorted and automatically supply the items to be sorted to the corresponding supply table. It realizes the unmanned operation of the supply phase, saves the time wasted in manually aligning and identifying the barcodes of goods and parcels in the supply phase, improves the supply efficiency, and improves the supply phase reduce labor costs.

FIG. 6 is a partial schematic diagram of a floor-standing sorting scene including an article collection table provided by an embodiment of the present application. Please refer to FIG. It is necessary to check the items to be sorted in the container. Based on the above examples, the present embodiment can be combined with the optional solutions in one or more of the above examples. FIG. 7 is a structural schematic diagram of yet another sorting system provided by an embodiment of the present application. Referring to FIG. 7, the sorting system 100 further includes at least one third RF tag reader 1140 and at least one item collection table 1150, the third RF tag reader 1140 being a preconfigured item of the item collection table 1150. located in the
The third RF tag reader 1140 detects the RF tags of all the sorting target articles in the article storage container 170 when the article storage container 170 containing the sorting target articles is close to the third RF tag reader 1140 . arranged to read the tag information of the tags and transmit the tag information of all read RF tags to the control server 130;
Based on the tag information of all RF tags, the control server 130 further identifies whether or not all the sorting target articles 150 satisfy the sorting conditions, and if the sorting target articles 150 satisfy the sorting conditions. For example, it is arranged to instruct that the article storage container 170 containing the articles to be sorted is conveyed to the article collection table 1150 .

In this embodiment, referring to FIG. 7, a third RF tag reader 1140 is provided at a preset position between an article collection table 1150 and a plurality of article storage containers 170 so that articles to be sorted are stored. Ensure that the loaded item container 170 first passes the third RF tag reader 1140 and then reaches the item item collection station 1150 . In this way, when the article storage container 170 containing the articles to be sorted passes through the third RF tag reader 1140 , the third RF tag reader 1140 reads the tag information of all the RF tags in the article storage container 170 . Optionally, the third RF tag reader 1140 is an RFID identification gate, and when an item container 170 containing items to be sorted passes through the RFID identification gate, the RFID identification gate identifies all items in the item container 170. It automatically reads the tag information of the RF tags and transmits the tag information of all RF tags to the control server 130 .

In this embodiment, the installation position of the third RF tag reader 1140 shown in FIG. 7 may be shifted, and the installation situation of the third RF tag reader 1140 can refer to the text description of FIG.

In this embodiment, the control server 130 determines whether or not the sorting route of each sorting target article stored in the article storage container 170 matches the current sorting route of the article storage container based on the tag information of all the RF tags. and whether or not the number of articles to be sorted in the article storage container 170 is correct. Together, the aspects described above determine whether the sorting criteria are met. When it is specified that the articles to be sorted satisfy the sorting conditions, the sorting robot is instructed to transport the article storage container containing the articles to be sorted to the article collection table 1150, and the articles are packaged on the article collection table 1150 and delivered to the vehicle. Once loaded, the sorting can be completed. When it is specified that the articles to be sorted do not satisfy the sorting condition, it indicates that the plurality of articles to be sorted in the article storage container 170 do not satisfy the sorting request, and at this time, the article storage container 170 containing the articles to be sorted is moved. Abnormal processing is performed together with When the above-described method is used, there is no need to manually recheck the articles to be sorted in the article storage container 170 on the article collection table 1150, and when the article storage container 170 reaches the article collection table 1150, the recheck work is automatically performed. can be completed, thereby accelerating the item collection efficiency, further improving the sorting efficiency of the entire sorting process, and reducing the labor cost of the item collection phase, further reducing the labor cost of the entire sorting process can be done.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of the sorting method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the technical solution of the present embodiment can be applied to the unmanned sorting of articles such as commodities and parcels, and the method includes: It can be applied to an unmanned sorting system provided by any embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 7, the sorting method in the embodiment of the present application includes the following steps.

S810, the first RF tag reader reads the tag information of each RF tag in the at least one RF tag and transmits the read tag information to the control server, and the at least one RF tag reads the at least one The tag information of each RF tag is placed on each of at least one sorting target article placed on the supply table, and includes the sorting route information of the sorting target article on which each RF tag is positioned.

Based on the technical solutions according to the above embodiments, the first RF tag reader can be selectively installed at a preset position of the supply table, or the first RF tag reader can be connected to the sorting robot. or the first RF tag reader is provided between the supply table and the at least one article storage container, and between the first RF tag reader and the supply table A distance to a preset position is smaller than a preset value.

Based on the technical solutions according to the above embodiments, optionally, the method includes:
Further comprising a first gripping member gripping the sortable items from the feed table and placing the gripped sortable items on the at least one sorting robot, wherein the first gripping member is positioned on the feed table. and the first RF tag reader is mounted on the first gripping member when the first RF tag reader is mounted at a preset position on the feed table.

Based on the technical solutions of the above embodiments, optionally, the at least one sorting robot includes a plurality of delivery mechanisms for delivering the at least one sorted object in the sorting robot.

S820, the control server determines a sorting route of the sorting target article on which each of the RF tags is located based on the tag information read by the first RF tag reader, and based on the sorting route , determine a target article container from at least one article container and send a delivery command to at least one sorting robot.

At S830, the at least one sorting robot responds to the delivery command to deliver at least one sorted item on which the respective RF tag obtained from the at least one supply platform is located to the target item container. do.

Based on the technical solutions according to the above embodiments, optionally, the at least one sorting robot responds to the delivery command to select the sorted articles on which the RF tags obtained from the at least one supply platform are located. The delivery to the target article storage container is performed by the at least one sorting robot responding to the delivery command, and the delivery mechanism in the at least one sorting robot sending each of the RF tags acquired from the at least one supply table. and delivering the located items to be sorted to the target item bin.

Based on the technical solutions according to the above embodiments, each article storage container may optionally correspond to at least one sorting route, and the article storage containers corresponding to the same sorting route are provided adjacently, and the at least One supply table corresponds to at least one sorting route respectively.

Based on the technical solutions according to the above embodiments, optionally, the sorting method includes:
the second RF tag reader reads tag information in the RF tag of the sorting target article to be moved to the supply table and transmits the read tag information to the control server;
The control server determines, based on the tag information read by the second RF tag reader, a sorting route for sorting target articles to be moved to the supply table, and based on the sorting route, determines at least one moving articles to be sorted from one feed table to the corresponding feed table by determining the feed table corresponding to the article to be sorted to be moved to the feed table. Including further.

Based on the technical solutions according to the above embodiments, optionally, the sorting method includes:
the control server transmitting a supply command to at least one transport robot or at least one article transfer facility based on a supply table corresponding to an article to be sorted to be moved to the supply table;
The transport robot receives the supply command, responds to the supply command, and moves the sorting target articles to be moved to the supply table to the corresponding supply table; or
The item transfer facility receives and responds to the feed command to move the sorted items to be moved to the feed table to the corresponding feed table.

Based on the technical solutions according to the above embodiments, optionally, the sorting method includes:
The second gripping member further includes gripping the sorted items to be moved to the supply table and placing the gripped sorted items on the transport robot or the item transfer facility.

Based on the technical solutions according to the above embodiments, optionally, the second RF tag reader is installed on the second gripping member.

Based on the technical solutions according to the above-described embodiments, the second RF tag reader is optionally installed in the transport robot or the article transfer facility.

Based on the technical solutions according to the above embodiments, the sorting method can optionally include: the goods storage facility receives the goods to be sorted that have been transported from the transport equipment and are to be moved to the supply table; The second RF tag reader is provided at a preset position between the article depositing facility and the supply table, further including depositing the sorting target items to be moved.

Based on the technical solutions according to the above embodiments, optionally, the sorting method includes:
When the distance between the article storage container containing the articles to be sorted and the third RF tag reader provided at a preset position on the article collection table is smaller than a preset distance threshold, the third RF tag reader reading tag information of all RF tags in the article storage container and transmitting all tag information to the control server;
When the control server identifies whether or not all the sorting target articles satisfy the sorting conditions based on all the tag information, and specifies that all the sorting target articles satisfy the sorting conditions, the sorting target articles are determined based on all the tag information. instructing the transport robot to transport the item storage container containing the items to the item collection station.

Based on the technical solutions according to the above-described embodiments, the sorting condition can be selected whether the sorting route of the sorting target articles stored in the article storage container matches the sorting route of the article storage container, and whether the sorting route of the article storage container matches. It includes at least one of whether the number of items to be sorted contained in the container is correct.

The sorting method provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to the sorting system provided by any of the above-described embodiments of the present application, and has corresponding functions in the sorting system, which are not described in detail in the above-described embodiments. Technical details may refer to the sorting system provided by any embodiment of the present application.

This application claims priority from a Chinese patent application with application number 201910765281.2 filed with the Chinese Patent Office on Aug. 19, 2019, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

In this embodiment, referring to FIG. 1, the control server 130 is a software and/or hardware system capable of storing data information and processing data information. Alternatively, wireless communication connection is possible. A control server 130 can be used to provide control and scheduling for the entire sorting system. Optionally, the control server 130 can receive information transmitted from multiple hardware facilities or software systems in the sortation system while simultaneously transmitting tasks to multiple hardware facilities or software systems in the sortation system. It can also collect sorting status statistics, detect the operating status of the sorting system, communicate information to workers, and issue control commands to multiple types of robots in the sorting system.

Based on the above-described embodiments, optionally referring to FIG. 1, the first RF tag reader 120 is provided at a preset position of the feed table 160, or the first RF tag reader 120 is provided at the sorting provided at a preset position of the robot 140, or the first RF tag reader 120 is provided between the supply table 160 and at least one article storage container 170, and the first RF tag reader 120 and The distance between the supply table 160 and a preset position is smaller than a preset value. When assigning at least one sorting target article 150 obtained from at least one supply platform 160 to at least one sorting robot 140 in the sorting area, any sorting target article 150 passes through or passes through the set position of the first RF tag reader 120. The proximity causes the first RF tag reader 120 to read the tag information of the RF tag.

In another alternative example, if the first RF tag reader 120 is provided at a preset position of the sorting robot 140, the first gripping member 180 is provided on the body of the sorting robot 140 to Since the sorting robot 140 can move along with the robot 140, the sorting robot 140 can independently pick up the sorting target items 150 on the supply table 160 and place them in a preset temporary storage location on its own body. , temporarily stores the grabbed sorting object 150 . Selectively, when at least one sorting robot 140 grabs an item to be sorted on the supply table 160, the first RF tag reader 120 provided on the first gripping member 180 reads the RF tag 110 of the item to be sorted 150. Read tag information.

In yet another alternative example, a first RF tag reader 120 is provided between the feed table 160 and the at least one item container 170, and a preset number of the first RF tag reader 120 and the feed table 160. At least one sorting robot 140 in the sorting area acquires the gripped sorting target item 150 from the supply table 160 via the first gripping member 180 if the distance between the positions is smaller than a preset value. After that, the sorting robot 140 carries the sorting target articles 150 and passes close to the first RF tag reader 120 provided between the supply table 160 and at least one article storage container 170 . At this time, the first RF tag reader 120 reads the tag information in the RF tag 110 of the sorting target article 150 placed on the sorting robot 140 .

In alternative forms of this embodiment, this embodiment can be combined with the alternative schemes in one or more of the embodiments described above. Referring to FIG. 4, the sorting system further includes a second gripping member 1130 that grips and grips the sorted items to be moved to the feed table located in the unloading area. The transport robot 1110 or the article transfer facility 1 120 supplies the articles to be sorted to the corresponding supply table 160 by placing the sorted articles on the transfer robot 1110 or the article transfer facility 1 120 . In one embodiment, the second gripping member 1130 can include a robotic arm provided with a mechanical gripper or suction disc and capable of gripping the items to be sorted by the mechanical gripper or suction disc.

According to the sorting scheme provided by the embodiment of the present application, the second RF tag reader automatically reads the tag information in the RF tag of the sorted article to be moved to the supply table, and the control server sends the second RF tag reader Based on the read tag information, it automatically instructs that the articles to be sorted should be supplied to a matching supply table and kept. Adopting the method according to the present embodiment, the RF tag reader does not require the reading direction. ensures that the tag information in the RF tags of the sorted items can be read, and the tag information can be automatically identified and transmitted when grasping the sorted items. In this way, the control server can early determine the sorting route of the grabbed items to be sorted and automatically supply the items to be sorted to the corresponding supply table. It realizes the unmanned operation of the supply phase, saves the time wasted in manually aligning and identifying the barcodes of goods and parcels in the supply phase, improves the supply efficiency, and improves the supply phase reduce labor costs.

In this embodiment, referring to FIG. 7, a third RF tag reader 1140 is provided at a preset position between an article collection table 1150 and a plurality of article storage containers 170 so that articles to be sorted are stored. Ensure that the loaded item container 170 first passes the third RF tag reader 1140 and then reaches the item collection station 1150 . In this way, when the article storage container 170 containing the articles to be sorted passes through the third RF tag reader 1140 , the third RF tag reader 1140 reads the tag information of all the RF tags in the article storage container 170 . Optionally, the third RF tag reader 1140 is an RFID identification gate, and when an item container 170 containing items to be sorted passes through the RFID identification gate, the RFID identification gate identifies all items in the item container 170. It automatically reads the tag information of the RF tags and transmits the tag information of all RF tags to the control server 130 .

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of the sorting method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the technical solution of the present embodiment can be applied to the unmanned sorting of articles such as commodities and parcels, and the method includes: It can be applied to an unmanned sorting system provided by any embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 8 , the sorting method in the embodiment of the present application includes the following steps.

S810, the first RF tag reader reads the tag information of each RF tag in the at least one RF tag and transmits the read tag information to the control server, and the at least one RF tag reads the at least one The tag information of each RF tag is placed on each of at least one sorting target article placed on the supply table, and includes the sorting route information of the sorting target article on which each RF tag is positioned.

Claims (26)

A sorting system comprising at least one RF tag, a first RF tag reader, a control server, at least one sorting robot, at least one supply table, and at least one article storage container,
At least one sorting target article is placed on each supply table, the at least one RF tag is placed on each at least one sorting target article, and the tag information of each RF tag includes including sorting route information for sorting target articles with each RF tag;
The first RF tag reader is arranged to read tag information in each RF tag and transmit the read tag information to the control server;
Based on the tag information read by the first RF tag reader, the control server determines a sorting route for the sorting target articles with each of the RF tags, and based on the sorting route, determines the at least one arranged to determine a target item bin from the item bins and to send delivery instructions to the at least one sorting robot;
The at least one sorting robot is arranged to respond to the delivery command and deliver each of the RF tagged items to be sorted obtained from the at least one supply table to the target item storage container.
sorting system. The first RF tag reader is provided at a preset position of the supply table, or the first RF tag reader is provided at a preset position of the sorting robot, or An RF tag reader is provided between the supply table and the at least one article storage container, and the distance between the first RF tag reader and a preset position of the supply table is a preset value. less than
The system of claim 1. Further comprising a first gripping member provided on the supply table, wherein the first gripping member grips the sorting target items from the supply table and feeds the gripped sorting target items to the at least one sorting robot. provided to place
When the first RF tag reader is installed at a preset position on the feed table, the first RF tag reader is installed on the first gripping member.
3. The system of claim 2. wherein said at least one sorting robot includes a plurality of delivery mechanisms arranged to deliver at least one item to be sorted on said sorting robot;
The system of claim 1. Each article storage container corresponds to at least one sorting route, the article storage containers corresponding to the same sorting route are provided adjacently, and the at least one supply table corresponds to at least one sorting route, respectively.
The system of claim 1. further comprising a second RF tag reader arranged to read the tag information in the RF tags of the items to be sorted to be moved to the supply table and transmit the read tag information to the control server;
The control server further determines, based on the tag information read by the second RF tag reader, a sorting route for the sorting target articles to be moved to the supply table, and based on the sorting route, determining from at least one supply table the supply table corresponding to the article to be sorted to be moved to the supply table, so that the article to be sorted to be moved to the supply table is moved to the corresponding supply table; to be placed,
6. The system of claim 5. further comprising at least one transport robot or at least one article transfer facility;
The control server is further arranged to send supply commands to the at least one transport robot or the at least one article transfer facility based on the supply table corresponding to the articles to be sorted to be moved to the supply table. ,
The transport robot is arranged to receive the supply command, respond to the supply command, and move the articles to be sorted to be moved to the supply table to the corresponding supply table, or
wherein the item transfer facility is arranged to receive the feed command and to respond to the feed command to move the sorted items to be moved to the feed table to the corresponding feed table;
7. A system according to claim 6. a second gripping member arranged to grip an item to be sorted to be moved to the supply table and place the gripped item to be sorted on the transport robot or the item transfer facility;
8. The system of claim 7. The second RF tag reader is provided on the second gripping member,
9. System according to claim 8. The second RF tag reader is provided in the transport robot or the article transport facility,
9. System according to claim 8. An article keeping facility arranged to receive the articles to be sorted to be moved to the supply table transported from the transportation facility and to keep the articles to be sorted to be moved to the supply table, The RF tag reader is provided at a preset position between the item storage facility and the supply table,
9. System according to claim 8. further comprising a third RF tag reader and an item collection platform, wherein the third RF tag reader is provided at a preset position on the item collection platform;
When the distance between the article storage container in which the sorting target articles are stored and the third RF tag reader is smaller than a preset distance threshold, the third RF tag reader detects all the RF tags in the article storage container. arranged to read tag information and transmit tag information of all RF tags to the control server;
The control server further identifies whether or not all the sorting target articles in the article storage container satisfy sorting conditions based on the tag information of all the RF tags, and determines whether all the sorting target articles meet the sorting conditions. When it is specified that the sorting condition is satisfied, the transport robot is provided to instruct the transport robot to transport the item storage container containing the sorting target items to the item collection table.
The system of claim 1. The sorting condition is whether the sorting route of the sorting target articles stored in the article storage container matches the sorting route of the article storage container, and whether the number of sorting target articles stored in the article storage container is correct. including at least one of
13. The system of claim 12. A first RF tag reader reads tag information of each RF tag in at least one RF tag and transmits the read tag information to a control server, wherein the at least one RF tag is connected to at least one supply The tag information of each RF tag is placed on each of at least one sorting target article placed on the table, and the tag information of each RF tag includes sorting route information of the sorting target article on which each of the RF tags is located;
The control server determines, based on the tag information read by the first RF tag reader, a sorting route of the sorting target articles on which the respective RF tags are located, and selects at least one article based on the sorting route. determining a target article bin from the bins and sending a delivery command to at least one sorting robot;
wherein the at least one sorting robot responds to the delivery command to deliver the sorted items on which the respective RF tags obtained from the at least one supply platform are located to the target item storage container;
sorting method. The first RF tag reader is provided at a preset position of the supply table, or the first RF tag reader is provided at a preset position of the sorting robot, or An RF tag reader is provided between the supply table and the at least one article storage container, and the distance between the first RF tag reader and a preset position of the supply table is a preset value. less than
15. The method of claim 14. A first gripping member grips the items to be sorted from the supply table and places the gripped items to be sorted on the at least one sorting robot, wherein the first gripping member is positioned on the supply table. and when the first RF tag reader is provided at a preset position on the feed table, the first RF tag reader is provided on the first gripping member;
16. The method of claim 15. The at least one sorting robot responding to the delivery command and delivering the sorting target articles on which the RF tags acquired from the at least one supply table are located to the target article storage container;
The at least one sorting robot responds to the delivery command, and a delivery mechanism in the at least one sorting robot picks up the sorted articles on which the RF tags are located from the at least one supply table into the target article storage container. including delivering
15. The method of claim 14. Each article storage container corresponds to at least one sorting route, the article storage containers corresponding to the same sorting route are provided adjacently, and the at least one supply table corresponds to at least one sorting route, respectively.
15. The method of claim 14. the second RF tag reader reads tag information in the RF tag of the sorting target article to be moved to the supply table and transmits the read tag information to the control server;
The control server determines, based on the tag information read by the second RF tag reader, a sorting route for sorting target articles to be moved to the supply table, and based on the sorting route, determines at least one moving articles to be sorted from one feed table to the corresponding feed table by determining the feed table corresponding to the article to be sorted to be moved to the feed table. further including,
19. The method of claim 18. said control server transmitting a supply command to at least one transport robot or at least one article transfer facility based on a supply table corresponding to an article to be sorted to be moved to said supply table;
The transport robot receives the supply command, responds to the supply command, and moves the sorting target articles to be moved to the supply table to the corresponding supply table; or
further comprising: said item transfer facility receiving said supply command and responsive to said supply command to move items to be sorted to be moved to said supply table to a corresponding supply table;
20. The method of claim 19. The second gripping member grips the sorted items to be moved to the supply table and places the gripped sorted items on the transport robot or the item transfer facility.
21. The method of claim 20. The second RF tag reader is provided on the second gripping member,
22. The method of claim 21. The second RF tag reader is provided in the transport robot or the article transport facility,
22. The method of claim 21. The item depositing facility further includes receiving items to be sorted that are to be moved to the supply table transported from transportation equipment, and depositing the items to be sorted that are to be moved to the supply table, wherein the second RF The tag reader is provided at a preset position between the item storage facility and the supply table,
22. The method of claim 21. When the distance between the article storage container containing the articles to be sorted and the third RF tag reader provided at a preset position on the article collection table is smaller than a preset distance threshold, the third RF tag reader reading the tag information of all the RF tags in the article storage container and transmitting the tag information of all the RF tags to the control server;
The control server specifies whether or not all sorting target articles in the article storage container satisfy the sorting conditions based on the tag information of all the RF tags, and all the sorting target articles satisfy the sorting conditions. further comprising: when specifying that the
15. The method of claim 14. The sorting condition is whether the sorting routes of the articles to be sorted stored in the article storage container match the sorting routes of the article storage container, and whether the number of the sorting target articles stored in the article storage container is correct. including at least one
26. The method of claim 25.

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